Radioactive
by christmasinacup
Summary: Sequel to More Than I Deserve: It's been 6 years, Joan and Arthur have been married for 4 years, and have an 18-month-old daughter. Everything is good, until Joan's druggie ex, Trent, comes after her. She got clean and ran away from him years ago, but unfortunately he's just as dirty as he's always been. And this time, he's on a mission that he needs Joan for.
1. Begin Again

I hope you guys enjoy this sequel, I put a lot of thought into it! :) This story is dedicated to my friend Nicole, who's been going through a hard time. I hope it makes her smile, and give her somewhere to escape to. xoxo.

* * *

"I love you, forever and always," Joan whispered, cradling her daughter in her arms. She stood up from the rocking chair slowly, rocking the baby gently in her arms as she walked to the crib. She tucked her daughter in, placing a soft kiss on her cheek.

Joan's eyes wandered to the framed birth certificate above the crib that read "Emily Marie Campbell." It was crazy to think that she and Arthur had an 18-month-old daughter, but then again, almost every moment of the last six years had felt surreal to Joan. She smoothed her violet t-shirt, which she was wearing with flannel plaid pajama pants, and continued to stand over her baby girl.

"Babe?"

Arthur walked into the nursery, shirtless and wearing blue pajama pants. He was yawning and scratching his head.

"Honey, it's 3 in the morning," he whispered. He pressed a kiss to her temple and looked at the crib.

"I know," Joan whispered back. "But she was screaming."

"Aren't you supposed to let them ride out tantrums?"

"I couldn't," Joan admitted. Arthur chuckled.

"Okay, well, now that she's asleep, want to come back to bed with me?"

Joan nodded, giving little Emily one last glance before taking Arthur's hand and walking back down the hall to their bedroom.

xxx

Joan woke up the next morning at 7 am to find Arthur already gone. He had been working for the DCS for about a year now, and started putting in extra hours the second he heard that the current DCS, Michael Kayne, was aiming for retirement in the next few years. He had left a note on her nightstand that read: _At work, missing you and little Em already. xoxo._

Joan smiled and snuggled deeper into the pillows, wishing Arthur was still in bed beside her. It took her a good twenty minutes to get up, and it would have taken her longer, but she heard Emily start to cry. She made her way to the nursery, picking up her fussy child and rocking her back and forth in her arms.

"Shhh," she whispered, placing a kiss on her daughter's hair. "Shhh, baby, it's okay."

Joan continued to soothe Emily as she walked into the kitchen and checked the phone messages. Arthur's cousin Erin was a grad student at American University, and often helped them out with the baby, especially since Joan had gone back to work 8 months earlier. Sure enough, there was a message from Erin, saying she would be at the house by 9 am. Joan glanced at the clock and saw she still had half an hour, so she took a now quiet Emily into the nursery and sat down in the rocking chair.

Emily's resemblance to Joan was incredible, except for her electric blue eyes. Her daddy's eyes. Joan smiled and watched her daughter stare around the room, still in her mother's arms. It was still unreal to Joan that she and Arthur had been so lucky, ever since that mission in London. Their life together was like a movie that Joan could easily play in her head – dating for almost 2 years, marriage, and almost exactly 3 years from their wedding day when Joan found out she was pregnant.

But perhaps Joan's fondest memory of the last few years was Arthur's proposal. It was romantic, sweet, and slightly goofy, just like him. They had just gotten back from dinner and are were taking about going furniture shopping the next morning for the apartment they had just bought. They still needed a bed, among a few other things. Arthur disappeared into the bedroom to change into pajamas, and Joan plugged her phone into the kitchen charger and answered some emails. When she entered the bedroom, their makeshift bed (a comforter piled with blankets and pillows, like a nest), was being sprinkled with rose petals.

"Arthur?"

He looked up from his petal-sprinkling, eyes wide. "Oh, shit. Hey, babe."

"Hey," Joan said slowly. "What are you doing?"

He dropped the last handful of petals and kicked his shoes off, jumping onto the bed.

"Joan," he said grandly. "I have something to ask you" He stuck his hand into his blazer pocket and then withdrew it, running over to the dresser. Joan covered her mouth with her hand to keep from laughing, her gray-blue eyes twinkling. Arthur recovered what he was looking for and walked over to her, getting down on one knee and opening a small velvet box. A diamond ring sat in the box, a simple silver band with a brilliant diamond and a tiny emerald on each side.

"I grew up thinking that every marriage was doomed to fail, that love was flawed and painful, and in the end, not worth it. But then I met you, and now I know that it is impossible for any marriage with you be anything but loving and wonderful. So, Joan Elizabeth Andrews, will you marry me?"

Joan wiped a few tears out of her eyes and giggled.

"Yes, I will. I love you, Arthur Howard Campbell."

He laughed and slipped the ring on her trembling finger before pulling her into a tight hug. She kissed him tenderly, tangling her fingers in his hair.

When they came up for air, she pointed to the bed.

"Was that your attempt to sex-up our pillow fort?"

He nodded, touching her shoulder and delicately slipping off the straps of her green feather-printed dress.

"Yeah, how did I do?"

Joan laughed and kissed him, cupping his face in her hands. "Not bad."

xxx

"Hello?"

Joan was startled out of her memories by Erin, who was in the kitchen. Joan held Emily against her shoulder and got up, walking into the living room.

"Erin, hi!"

Erin tucked a lock of thick brown hair behind her ear and grinned. "Hey, Joan." She made a kissy face. "Hey little Emmie," she cooed, taking the baby from Joan. Emily just gurgled and said, "Ewin." Joan laughed and went to pour herself a cup of coffee.

"So, I'm going to shower and get to work. The nanny will be here at 2 pm to relieve you, feel free to help yourself to... whatever," Joan said, running her hands through her hair as she did a mental checklist of the food in the fridge. "Actually, let me leave you some money. I don't think Arthur or I remembered to buy groceries this week."

Erin laughed, shifting Emily onto her hip and bouncing her. "I can do the shopping, if you want. Just leave me a list."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Erin said with a casual nod. "I'll bring Emily in a stroller."

"You are wonderful," Joan said, grinning. She pulled her grocery list out of the magnet clip on the fridge and left it on the counter. She walked over to Erin and gave her daughter a kiss before thanking Erin again and running upstairs to take a shower.

* * *

Joan's dress in the flashback: Corey Lynn Calter Delightful as a Feather Dress from Modcloth.


	2. Everything You Do

"Hello!"

Joan waved at Annie, who was a few feet away from her, opening the DPD door. Annie stopped and waved back, holding the door open for Joan.

"Hey, how's Emily?"

"Adorable, as always. We started a book about colors yesterday," Joan said to her friend with a grin. They sat down opposite each other at their desks, logging onto their computers.

"Walker, there's an assignment for you," an agent said, dropping a file on her desk. Annie picked it up, flipping through the papers.

"Oooh."

"Ugh, I'm so jealous of you," Joan mumbled, clicking the keys on her computer. "It's been so long since I've gone out in the field."

Annie gave Joan a sympathetic smile. "Your time will come, Joanie. Plus, you know you just have to say the word."

Joan nodded and went back to her computer. Annie flipped through the file and then stood up, putting her hand on Joan's shoulder as she walked past her to the Head of DPD's office.

Joan sat at her desk doing paperwork for about an hour before getting up and walking into Auggie's office.

"Joan!"

She laughed. "I'm wearing flats, and –"

He held up a hand. "I'll stop you right there. You smell like a fresh baby."

Joan laughed again, puzzled. "Thank you?"

He grinned. "You're welcome. Now, what's up?"

"I need to talk to you," she said. "Coffee in the courtyard?"

He nodded and stood up, holding a hand out. She took it and they walked out of the DPD.

"So... it's not marriage problems, and not relapse…" Auggie said as he sat down. Joan squeezed his hand and sat down across from him.

"I don't even want to know how you deduced that," Joan said with a smile. "But you're right. Arthur and I are fine, and I haven't even _thought_ about relapsing since we started dating. It's a… work problem."

Auggie looked surprised. "Since when does a top spy like you have a problem with work?"

Joan blushed. "That's sweet, Auggie. But I'm just feeling… stuck. I haven't been out in the field in months, except for simple information exchanges. But at the same time, I don't want to spend a week in a foreign country without my baby."

Auggie sighed. "Well, therein lies the problem, I guess. I understand that it can be scary, and hard. After my accident, I didn't want to even leave my house, because it was just too hard to push myself outside."

Joan nodded. "Like when you're a little kid, and you have to go to the dentist, but you really don't want to open your mouth because it hurts to get poked in the gums."

Auggie paused. "Yeah…. If that makes more sense to you. The point, Joanie, is that you are an incredible officer. The field would be lucky to have you back. But your daughter is also lucky to have you, and so is Arthur. You're a hot commodity, my friend."

Joan blushed again, her cheeks turning a deep raspberry pink. Auggie could sense it, and he let out a small laugh.

"Thanks, Auggie," she said quietly, taking his hand. "But I still feel stuck."

Auggie sighed. "That's the worst, isn't it? No matter how hard you think, you can't decide. Have you talked to Arthur about this?"

Joan shook her head. "Not yet. But I will tonight."

"Good plan."

"Yeah," Joan whispered. But she didn't actually think it was.

xxxx

"Babe?"

Joan poked her head into their bedroom and saw Arthur sitting on the bed, cradling Emily in his arms. He looked up at Joan and grinned.

"Hey, sweetheart. She was fussy, so I was trying to calm her down." He started down at his sleeping daughter's face in awe. "I actually coaxed her to sleep!"

Joan couldn't help but laugh at Arthur's boyish excitement. He was still the 29-year-old boy she had met by spilling coffee all over his shirt, with bright blue eyes and a charming grin. And she loved him for it.

She walked over to him and bent down to kiss Emily's forehead before giving Arthur a tender kiss on the lips. She looked into his eyes.

"Hey, I want to talk to you about something."

He nodded. "Okay. I'll go put her in the crib and you can change." He stood up, kissed her cheek, and went down the hall to Emily's room.

Joan pulled on a grey silk nightgown and an old zip-up hoodie of Arthur's from the Naval Academy. She was wiping her makeup off when Arthur re-entered the room, sitting on the bed.

"So, what did you want to talk about?," Arthur asked as Joan crawled back up onto the bed. She sat cross-legged in front of him and took a deep breath.

"I had a talk with Auggie today about getting back out in the field."

Arthur grinned and put his hand on her knee.

"Babe, that's great. You're a fantastic field operative, and the field would be lucky to have you back."

"But I don't know if I want to go back out," Joan said sadly. Arthur looked confused.

"What do you mean?"

"I just – I don't know what to do! I've gone over both situations in my mind, but neither is better. I hate sitting at a desk everyday, but I would hate being away from you and Emily for more than a few days just as much."

She snuggled up in his arms and sighed, weary and on the verge of tears. Arthur kissed the top of her head and hugged her close.

"Sweetheart, it will be okay. Whatever you decide, that's the right decision."

"I just wish I could do both," Joan whispered. Arthur held her tighter.

"I know, babe, I know. I'm right here, and I will support whatever you choose to do. And so will Emily."

Joan had to laugh at the idea of an innocent toddler being conscious of such a difficult, adult decision. Arthur laughed with her, and lightened the mood by telling her a funny story from his day.

xxxx

The next week, Joan woke up to the smell of sugary vanilla. She cracked open an eye and saw Arthur sitting beside her in bed, grinning and holding a paper plate with a slice of cake on it.

"Happy birthday!," he said, leaning over and kissing her cheek. Joan smiled and sat up, returning the kiss and taking the plate from him. He handed her a plastic fork and she took a bite, making a yummy noise.

"Mhhmm, babe, this is good." She scooped up another forkful and held it out to Arthur. He ate it and then took the plate from her, placing it on her nightstand and kissing his wife again, guiding her down onto the bed. He tangled his fingers in her hair and kissed her, making his way down her neck. Joan moaned and wrapped her legs around his, loving the way his tongue felt on her chest.

"I needed this," she murmured as he made his way back up. He nodded, running his tongue across her lips.

Joan wrapped her arms around Arthur's neck, kissing him passionately. "Oh, Arthur."

Cue the fussy toddler, screaming, "Maaaammmaa!"

"Ahh," Arthur said, pulling Joan up to sit next to him. She leaned against his shoulder.

"I'll go get her." Joan made a move to slide off the bed and Arthur grabbed her wrist.

"No way," he said, placing another quick kiss on her lips. "It's your birthday. You finish your cake, I'll go soothe Emily."

Joan smiled. "Thanks, honey." She picked up the cake and took another bite. She ate it quickly, licking the frosting off her lips when her phone buzzed. She picked it up and saw a group of texts from her sisters, Annie, and Auggie.

"_Happy 34__th__! You'll always be my baby sister!"_ said the text from her oldest sister, Catherine. She smiled.

"Hey, someone wants to say happy birthday to you," Arthur said from the doorway. Joan looked up and saw Arthur cradling Emily in his arms. Her face broke out into an even bigger grin and she slid off the bed.

"Hey sweetie," Joan cooed, walking over to her baby girl. Arthur held up Emily's little arm and waved it.

"Happy birthday, momma. I love you," he said in a baby voice. Joan laughed and placed a tiny kiss on Emily's nose – and a much bigger one on Arthur's lips. Emily just babbled something and grinned.

Arthur set Emily down on the bed to crawl around and then took Joan's hands in his.

"I have one more birthday surprise for you," he said, his blue eyes sparkling. "Well, two, if you count the Tiffany's box on the dresser."

Joan smiled like a little girl and her eyes darted to the dresser. Sure enough, there was that little blue box. She kissed him again, sucking on his lower lip for a few seconds.

Arthur blinked a few times. "Whoa, way to distract a guy. What was I saying?"

Joan laughed. "A surprise that isn't in the little blue box."

"Right! Annie is babysitting tonight, and we are going out for a romantic dinner."

"Ooh," Joan's eyes lit up once again. "Darling, that's wonderful. Thank you."

He nodded and dropped her hands so he could stroke her hair.

"I want you to have a relaxing and work-free day. No worrying today, alright?"

Joan nodded. "I promise."

"Okay, time for the little blue box," Arthur said, walking over to the dresser. Joan sat down on the bed and pulling a slightly squirmy Emily into her arms. It was a perfect day; she had an adorable daughter, a loving and supportive husband, and some really damn good cake. What could be better?

xxxx

"Honey, are you ready to go?," Arthur called from the kitchen, adjusting his cufflinks. Annie walked into the kitchen holding Emily, who was already dressed in her pink footie pajamas.

Annie winked. "Dude, you are going to _flip_ when you see how hot your wife looks."

Arthur chuckled, but stopped mid-laugh when he heard Joan's heels on the hardwood floor. She walked into the kitchen and he felt his heart stop.

She was wearing black peep-toe stilettos, her new diamond Tiffany bracelet, and a backless black Calvin Klein dress. Her hair was wavy and parted to the side, and her lips were crimson red.

"Wow," Arthur gaped, taking it all in. "Joan, you look stunning."

Joan smiled and blushed. "Really?"

He nodded. "_Yes_." He offered her his arm and they said goodbye to Annie, walking to the car. Emily offered a "Bye bye," and a floppy wave of her tiny hand, which made all three of the adults laugh.

Before they drove away, Arthur leaned over and placed a tender kiss on Joan's cheek.

"Happy birthday, Joan. I love you more than anything in the world."

Joan smiled. "No, I love you more."

"Fine," Arthur sighed, putting the car in drive. "That means you're paying for drinks."

Joan laughed, placing her hand on Arthur's knee. "Fine by me."


	3. Sunday Mornings

So glad you all have been enjoying the story! I have to keep reminding myself of this as well, but keep in mind, guys – these versions of J and A are slightly different from the ones on the show. They are younger, more open with each other, and much more confident due to being far less experienced.

* * *

"Waffles or pancakes?," Arthur asked, wrapping his arms around his wife's waist. Joan smiled and turned her head slightly to kiss him.

"Hmm… waffles."

Arthur smiled. "Sounds good." He bent over Emily's crib.

"Hey Emmy," he cooed. "You want some yummy waffles?"

Emily just made a cute little baby noise and Joan laughed. She stared around the nursery, never tired of the cheeriness of the baby's room.

"So, it's Sunday. No work, no commitments," Arthur said, taking his wife's hand. "Just the three of us."

Joan smiled. "Mhhm. I like that – three. It still feels odd, doesn't it?"

Arthur nodded. "It does. But the best kind of odd."

Joan nodded in agreement, gazing at her daughter. She lifted Emily out of the crib and held her hands, guiding her to walk out of the room and down the hall. Arthur ran behind them, cheering like a schoolboy.

"Yay, Emily! Gooooo Emmy!"

"Dada," Emily said, grinning at Arthur when he stepped in front of them. He picked Emily up in his arms and swung her around, running with her into the kitchen. Joan just ran behind them, laughing.

Arthur put on John Mayer while he cooked and Joan sat on the living room floor in front of the French doors leading to the backyard, playing with Emily. She grinned and waved at her little daughter, handing her a plastic pink car the size of a paperback book.

"Car. Car." Emily took it happily and started to suck on the wheel.

"Yeah, Emmy, that's a car. Do you know what color it is?"

Emily took the car out of her mouth and put a finger on her lip, as if she was pondering something. It was probably a random movement, but it fascinated Joan immensely.

"Pik!" She blurted said, before putting it down and picking up the blue car.

Joan clapped. "Yes, honey! Pink!" She turned her head towards the kitchen. "Arthur? Babe, she knows pink!"

Arthur walked over to the counter and put his hands on it, leaning over the bar to reply. He looked confused.

"What?"

"I asked her what color her toy car is and she said pink! Well, 'pik,' but still!," Joan yelled back, grinning.

Arthur chuckled and gave her a thumbs-up. "Great, honey."

Joan laughed and turned back to Emily, who was pulling off one of her polka-dotted socks. The smell of blueberry waffles wafted through the house, and she could hear Arthur singing in the kitchen. Sundays mornings really were the best.

xxxx

Joan was on her regular Wednesday morning run when she got the eerie feeling that she was being followed. She did a heat run, doubled back over her regular route, and headed back towards home.

She stopped and bent down to fix her shoelace, peering through her legs to see a black Nissan with tinted windows. She had seen that Nissan near the park a few blocks away, and by the drugstore four streets over. She stood up slowly and began to jog slowly, hoping the car would either speed up and pass her or slow down enough for her to confirm that it was following her.

Sure enough, the car slowed until it was barely moving, staying a good twelve feet away from her. She sighed and turned around, running up to the car and knocking on the passenger side window. Not the best idea, since she had no idea who was inside. But worth a shot.

The window rolled down, and Joan's jaw dropped when she saw the man sitting in the driver's seat.

"Trent?!"

The man flashed a cunning smile, a gold tooth in the back of his mouth barely visible. His black curls were cropped close to his head, and he had stubble on his cheeks. He looked a few years older than he actually was, but then again, drugs and alcohol could age a person like nothing else.

"Hey, Joanie. Long time no see."

Joan gulped as quietly and inconspicuously as she could. The last time she had seen Trent, he was wasted and murmuring something about being out of beer. She had run away the next day, stealing $60 bucks from his jeans and taking off to West Virginia. He had called her endlessly, and she had changed her number and pushed him out of her mind.

"Yeah," she said shakily, tugging on her blonde ponytail. "I'm... I'm sorry, am I missing something? What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm in bit of a bind," he said, chuckling darkly. Joan knew that laugh, and she had grown to hate it. It was a casual laugh, but one that conveyed that whatever Trent was talking about was much more complicated and dangerous than he wished to let on. "But as luck would have it, you're the perfect girl to help me out."

His eyes flicked up and down her body, and she felt violated by his filthy look. What had she ever seen in him?

"You do a damn good disappearing act, Joanie, and I need to disappear."

Joan just snorted and shook her head. "No way. Get lost, Trent. Find someone else to help you cheat the law, or whatever the hell else you're doing. I'm not getting involved."

He had gotten creepier in the last 12 years. The charming aspect of his personality was gone, making him a creepy slimeball instead of a misunderstood and sexy bad boy. He had this air about him that suggested to Joan that getting near him would put her in the face of real danger. And not the kind of danger she knew how to handle.

Trent frowned. "I know you don't mean that, Joanie. Tell you what – I'll give you a few days to think about it. You do this same run on Saturdays too, right? I'll see you then."

He drove off, leaving Joan standing there in a state of panic. How did he know when she ran? In her mind, she went over the last few weeks.

Her blood went cold.

She had seen that Nissan, Trent's Nissan, outside of the grocery store last week. And across the street from her favorite coffee shop on the way to work, more than once.

He had been following her for weeks.

xxxx

It had been 2 weeks since Joan had run into Trent, and she hadn't seen him. She stopped running her regular route and started using the gym at the Agency more often. She used evasive tactics when driving anywhere, even just to the drugstore.

Part of her was dying to tell Arthur, but she didn't know what Trent wanted, and she didn't want Arthur to confront him. For all she knew, he knew who Arthur was and was tracking him. Trent might even know about Emily, and Joan needed to guarantee her daughter's safety. She needed to deal with Trent on her own - she just needed for time to figure out how to do it.

It had been a long day at work. Joan was coming home later than Arthur, for the first time in years. She turned on the radio and saw that the dashboard clock read 11:27 pm.

"Ughh," she mumbled to herself.

After about ten minutes of driving, Joan felt like something was off. She tried to slow down on the freeway, and her brakes weren't working right. Concerned, she attempted to maneuver onto an exit, and slammed on the brakes. A car pulled in front of her at the end of the exit, and she began to panic. Her car's speed hadn't budged from 70 mph. She made a sharp turn, Agency training kicking in, and careened off the road, narrowly avoiding a tree. The car kept going straight, and Joan realized the only way to make it stop was to get the car to flip over – or at least onto it's side. She took a deep breath, prayed that she would live to see Emily and Arthur again, and turned again, pulling on the wheel until she felt the car spin out. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath.

And then everything went dark.


	4. Heavy Heart and Heavy Hands

Auggie got the call from Annie, who got it from Arthur. Joan had been in a car accident, she was at the hospital. Weaving in and out of consciousness, and not 100% stable.

"Annie…"

"Auggie, I'm on the way to pick you up, I'm five minutes away."

Auggie exhaled. "Thank you."

He turned his phone off and sat on the couch, head in his hands. Annie clicked her phone off and tossed it into the passenger seat, speeding up to make it through a yellow light.

How could this have happened?

xxxx

Joan's eyelids fluttered open and she saw Arthur, so worried he almost looked sick. She gasped when she saw Emily in his arms, dressed in her pink butterfly pajamas. Or at least, she tried to gasp. There was an oxygen mask over her face.

Arthur saw her open eyes and exhaled, as if he had been holding his breath for days.

"Oh, Joan," he said, walking over and sitting on the edge of her bed. "Baby, I was so worried."

Joan felt tears slide down her cheeks. She noticed that Arthur's blue eyes were watery, and that he wasn't touching her. His first instinct whenever something was ever slightly wrong was always to take her hand and squeeze it, like he did when they were first shot at in London.

Her eyes traveled down to her left hand and she had to stifle another gasp. It was bandaged, but she could see blood seeping through. She looked up at Arthur, terrified, and he let himself cry a little bit.

Emily just sat there in his arms, chewing on her stuffed dog's ear. "Mama," she said, looking at her mommy in the same way that she looked at her when Joan got her dressed in the mornings, or read her a book. It was nothing unusual, but for Joan, it was heartbreaking.

Joan lost it, weeping until her vision blurred. All she remembered was getting in her car at the Agency – and waking up to see her husband with a fear in his eyes that she had never seen and their blissfully oblivious baby daughter in his arms.

xxxx

A doctor entered the room ten minutes later, and Joan had already fallen back asleep. The doctor, a woman with short black hair, offered Arthur a warm glance of encouragement.

"Are you her husband?"

He nodded. "Arthur Campbell, hi." He shifted Emily onto his hip so that he could shake the doctor's hand. She smiled and shook it.

"Doctor Logan," she said. She bent down a little bit and looked at Emily, grinning. Emily waved shyly with one hand, the other still clutching her stuffed dog. She was being unusually quiet, which was unsettling to Arthur. She was behaving as if she understood the situation, and he hoped to god that she had just gotten sick of babbling.

"Who is this beautiful little girl?"

"Our daughter, Emily," Arthur said quietly. He looked at the doctor.

"Doctor Logan, do you know what happened? I want to be able to make sure Joan is okay, so she can come home with us."

"Well, she was in a car accident, as you know. I was told that someone saw her car by the road and called 911, and she was brought here. We called you as soon as she got in, of course."

"Do you know what caused the accident?"

She shook her head. "I'm afraid not, sorry. But I'm sure the police checked out the scene and drew up a report."

Arthur nodded, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. "I have some friends in law enforcement, I'll get that report."

He sent a text and then put the phone back in his pocket. Emily made a small gurgling sound, and he shifted her so she was looking over his shoulder. He knew that she would never remember this moment, but he still didn't want her to see her mother lying in a hospital bed.

"So, what's next?"

"We need to run some tests, and Joan will need to sleep off the rest of the painkillers and sedatives for the next 24 hours. She isn't completely stable, so some of these tests need to happen right away. It seems she has regained the ability to breathe on her own, so with your permission, we can start now." The doctor checked one of Joan's machines and slowly took off her oxygen mask, setting it on the bedside table.

Arthur nodded vigorously. "Yes, please."

Doctor Logan nodded and left the room to go get some nurses. Arthur glanced at the bed, where Joan lay. Her right arm was bandaged, from the elbow to the palm of her hand, and the top of her left hand was covered in gauze that was already stained red. Her beautiful face was bruised, she had a black eye, and her legs were stiff under the thin hospital bedding.

"Arthur!"

Arthur turned to the doorway and saw Annie and Auggie. Annie ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"I can't believe this," she whispered, choking back tears. "I was just with her a few hours ago."

Arthur hugged her back with his free arm, nodding. "I can't either."

They broke apart and Annie held her arms out to take Emily from Arthur. Arthur handed the baby to Annie and then went to the doorway to get Auggie.

"Is she stable?," Auggie asked, his voice filled with fear. Arthur hugged his friend.

"Not completely. The doctors say that she should improve, though."

Auggie put his hand on Arthur's shoulder. "Man, I'm here for you if you need anything."

Arthur nodded. "Thanks, Auggie. Actually, do you think you two could watch Emily for the rest of the day? I don't want Joan to see her again when she wakes up. I think the idea of Emily seeing her like this - even if she never remembers it – really freaked Joan out."

Annie nodded, kissing Emily's head. "Of course. I have a key to the house, I'll drop by and grab some of her things."

Arthur smiled gratefully. "Thanks. I'm not sure how long Joan and I will be here, but you two are welcome to stay at our house with Emmy if you want. One night, maybe two."

"That sounds like a good plan," Auggie said. "Maybe we can be there when she gets home."

"That would mean a lot to her," Arthur said softly, glancing at his sleeping wife.

Auggie almost smiled, then held his hand out, and Arthur placed it on Annie's forearm, so he could get a good grip. Arthur kissed Annie's cheek.

"Thanks so much, you guys. I'll text you with updates."

Annie gave him a half-nod, looking over at Joan. The sight of her best friend lying in a hospital bed, pale and bruised, made her feel like she was being stabbed in the heart. She saw goosebumps on Joan's slim arms, and the knife twisted. Cold, frail, alone – it was Joan's worst nightmare, and Annie knew that. She let a few tears escape before guiding Auggie out of the room, cradling Emily in her arms.

"Auggie," Annie breathed as they walked to her car. "Auggie, I'm so scared. She looked so… helpless."

Auggie sighed, the pain on his face evident. He was the first person Joan had met in the DPD, and he had cared for her like a sister since that first day. In this situation, he was almost glad he couldn't see her.

"She'll recover, she has to," he said firmly. Annie nodded.

"Yeah," she mumbled, holding the passenger side door of her car open for Auggie. He got in and she placed Emily in a spare car seat in the back, placing a kiss on top of her head before getting into the driver's seat. Emily was sound asleep, and Annie was grateful for it. She also envied the baby – blissfully asleep, in a world free of darkness and pain. Dreaming, and not yet aware of the horror the world held.

It was almost midnight when Annie pulled into Arthur and Joan's driveway. She closed her eyes for a moment and took in the darkness, feeling like she was in the middle of a horrible nightmare.

xxxx

Joan woke up the next afternoon and opened her eyes to see Arthur's deep blue gaze, relieved and exhausted. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

"Joanie, I'm so glad you're okay."

She savored the feeling of his lips of her skin.

"Arthur," she croaked, taking his hand. He immediately grabbed a glass of water from the bedside table and lifted it to her lips with his free hand. She took a few sips.

"Arthur, what happened?," she whispered as he stroked her cheek. He froze.

"You don't remember anything?"

She shook her head sadly. "No. The last thing I remember was getting in my car at the Agency… and waking up to see you standing next to this bed, Emily in your arms." She blinked back tears.

"Did I do this to myself?," she asked him, her eyes pleading. He shook his head and squeezed her hand.

"No, honey, of course not. You were in a car accident."

"Oh." A tiny sigh of relief escaped Joan's lips.

Arthur looked at her with concern. "Why? You didn't relapse, did you?"

Joan shook her head. "No, I just… the last few times I've woken up in a hospital, it's been my fault. I broke my leg falling down the stairs because I was wasted, I slit my wrist because I was mad at myself for relapsing, and I split my head open on the edge of my dresser because I tripped over Seth after I knocked him to the ground during a fight we had."

"Shit," Arthur whispered. For a moment, his eyes twinkled. "Remind me to never get in a fight with you."

Joan laughed weakly, and then got quiet. "So, a car accident?"

"Yeah. I have the police report, and I'm sure they'll want to ask you a few questions later this week."

She just shook her head. "This is so crazy… I don't remember a thing. I don't even remember starting the car. I was in the parking lot… and all of the sudden, blackness. And then your face. Your sweet, pained face staring at me as though you thought you would never see me again." A few more sobs escaped, and she got choked up.

"… And Emily's innocent smile, her tiny yawns.." Joan burst into tears and leaned over, burying in face in the blankets on the bed. Arthur rubbed her back.

"Shh," he said soothingly. "She's fine, Annie and Auggie are watching her at our house. She fell asleep in Annie's arms less than an hour after you woke up… she'll never remember it, babe. It's okay. You're okay."

Joan sat up and nodded, sniffling.

"My legs feel a bit funny, and my hand hurts."

"We'll get a doctor in here to sort all that out," Arthur said, kissing her forehead. "I'll call for a nurse."

It was hard for him to even walk away from her, but he did it. He went into the hallway and got a nurse, who said she would check Joan out while they waited for Doctor Logan.

"All her vitals are good," the nurse said, checking the machines Joan was hooked up to. She picked up Joan's left hand gently and made a clicking noise with her tongue.

"Yeah, we should re-wrap that," the nurse said. "I'll be right back."

Arthur just held Joan's right hand and watched over her as she took deep breaths and laid there, feeling uncomfortable.

"Hello, Joan," Doctor Logan said from the hallway. She smiled at Arthur and walked over to the bed. "We met before, but you were pretty out of it."

Joan sighed, not even allowing a single chuckle to escape from her lips. "Yeah, I don't remember much of anything," she said quietly. Doctor Logan nodded.

"That's to be expected." She held up a small plastic box. "Nurse Amelia told me your arm needed to be re-bandaged. I promise I'll be as careful as possible."

Joan nodded. "Okay," she said, her voice raspy and just above a whisper. Arthur held the cup of water to her lips and she took a long sip before resting back onto the pillows.

While Doctor Logan re-bandaged Joan's arm, she explained that Joan's arm had been gashed by a piece of the driver's side window when it shattered on impact.

"According to the police report, your car was found lying on the driver's side. Based on the area you went off the road, the car might have hit something that would have broken the window," she said, standing up to throw away the used bandages.

"Is anything else bothering you?"

Joan nodded. "Yes, my legs feel strange. Stiff, and weak."

"Ah, let me take a look." Doctor Logan sat down on the edge of the bed and carefully bent Joan's leg. She looked at Joan. "How does that feel?"

Joan winced. "Like my whole leg was asleep. Pins and needles."

Doctor Logan nodded. "It might be like that for a few days. You haven't stood up or moved your legs in almost 24 hours. We'll send you home with crutches, just in case."

Arthur shook Doctor Logan's hand. "Thank you, doctor. When can I take her home?"

"Tomorrow morning," she said, getting up to leave. "It's hospital policy to have patients from car accidents of any kind stay for at least 24 hours."

He nodded. "Okay."

Joan shook her head, staring at Arthur until the doctor left.

"I'm not going home," she rasped, her eyes dark and moody. "It's not safe."

"What, why?," Arthur asked incredulously, his bright blue eyes expanding. "Sweetie, it's fine."

She just shook her head again. "No, it's not. I know who did this to me, Arthur."


	5. Run Run Away

"His name is Trent DeAngelo," Arthur hissed into his cell phone from the hospital courtyard. "He's her ex-boyfriend from college."

"And he's been stalking her?"

"Yeah. She realized he was following her when she was on a run the week before last. She confronted him, and he said something about wanting to disappear. She refused to help him, he said he'd give her a few days – and that's when she realized that he had been following her for weeks. He knew her routine, the route she runs – oh, and he drives a black Nissan."

"Damn it," Auggie said, resting his forehead against the wall. "She should have told you – or at least me."

"I know, but I don't want to upset her by lecturing her right now," Arthur said quietly. "Just let me know what you find, okay? Auggie, the guy is a real creep."

"Will do."

Auggie hung up and turned to Annie, who was putting Emily to bed. She saw his face and frowned.

"What?"

"Apparently, Joan's ex from college has been stalking her. She's pretty sure he's the one who caused her accident."

"Well, the police report said that it looked as if someone had tampered with her brakes, so maybe he was trying to scare her?"

"Yeah, well he succeeded," Auggie said furiously. "That son of a…"

"Auggie!" Annie gestured to the crib. She took his arm and led him down the hall to the living room.

"Annie, that bastard could have killed her. We need to do something about it."

"We will," Annie promised. "I'm going to finish putting Emily to bed, and then you and I are going to get to the bottom of this."

Auggie just mumbled something incoherent. If he could, he would track this guy down himself and beat him within an inch of his life. You don't mess with the people August Anderson loves, and Trent was going to learn that.

xxxx

"Honey, how are you feeling?," Arthur asked, sitting on the edge of the tiny hospital bed. Joan squeezed his hand.

"I don't feel like myself," she said sadly, staring up into her husband's eyes. "I feel like I'm only half-awake, floating around but not really here."

His heart sank. "We'll get through this, I promise. You never have to feel lonely again, okay?"

"Just seeing him again reminded me of how he made me feel – dirty, unwanted, and weak," Joan said, her voice still raspy. She was staring at the wall, lost in her thoughts. "Like I was an object he would screw around with until it broke... and then he could just get another one." She looked at Arthur.

"I haven't felt like that since I met you," she said. "You made me feel wanted, and every time you look at me with those goddamn blue eyes, I feel so happy. No one ever looked at me that way before you."

Arthur stroked her cheek. "Well, then you were surrounded by idiots," he said, lowering his voice and adding a gravelly sound to it. Joan had to laugh at his _Lion King_ reference. Her laugh made his eyes light up, and he smiled.

"Everything will work out," he whispered, leaving his forehead against hers. "I promise."

She met his lips with hers for a quick, soft kiss. "Okay."

He nodded, still leaning into her. "Okay."

xxxx

The next morning, Arthur escorted Joan to the car slowly, holding his breath every time she took a step.

"For god's sake, Arthur. I'm not a china doll," Joan said crossly. Arthur just shook his head.

"Until we find this guy, you aren't leaving my sight, okay?"

Joan sighed and got into the car, nodding. She finally smiled, leaning over to kiss him before he started to drive.

"I suppose I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

Arthur shook his head, grinning. "Nope."

They drove home in silence. When Arthur finally pulled into the driveway next to Annie's little red car, Joan took a deep breath.

"You okay?," Arthur asked, glancing over at Joan. Her black eye had barely healed, and her pale blonde hair was in a messy ponytail. She closed her eyes and nodded, then got out of the car. Before he opened thee front door, Arthur pulled Joan into his arms.

"I'm going to keep you safe," he whispered. "You are strong and beautiful, and _I want you."_

Joan smiled. "Thanks," she whispered. She put her hand on the doorknob and very slowly opened the front door to their house.

"Joan!," Annie ran to the doorway from the kitchen, Emily in her arms. She held Emily out to Joan and Joan took her daughter, her eyes welling up with tears.

"Mama, mama," Emily kept repeating over and over again. Arthur chuckled. Joan bounced her daughter gently in her arms and smiled at Annie.

"Thank you for everything," she said to her best friend. Annie just shook her head and wrapped her arms around Joan.

"Anything for you," she whispered into her hair. Annie hugged Arthur, and then called for Auggie. Annie watched Joan carefully, noticing that her friend was almost like a ghost of herself. Quiet, cautious – like someone had broken her.

"Auggie! They're home!"

Auggie appeared in the kitchen and walked over to the foyer. Joan handed Emily to Arthur and hugged him, squeezing him as tightly as she could.

"Down!," Emily said, kicking her tiny little legs. Arthur laughed and bent down, planting his daughter on her little feet and watching her amble back into the living room, where she had been playing.

"I was really scared," Auggie said to Joan when they broke apart. "Never do that to me again, understand?"

Joan nodded, and then said "Yes, sir." Auggie's chocolate brown eyes finally lit up, and he smiled.

"So," Arthur said, closing the front door and looking at Annie and Auggie. "Did you guys find anything?"

Annie nodded. "Yeah. _A lot_." She led them to the kitchen counter, where her laptop was set up. "Check it out."

"So, Auggie and I did some digging and found out Trent didn't shape up his act like you did, Joanie. He graduated from Penn, got a job with decent pay in Philly as a paralegal, and started spending weekends in Atlantic City and gambling."

"Wow, what a stand up dude," Arthur said, his voice dripping with dark sarcasm. "How did he even graduate college?"

"He's a highly functioning addict with a pretty good level of intelligence," Joan muttered. "One time, he took a practice test for the LSATs while high and got a 99%."

"Charming," Auggie said.

"Yeah," Annie said, scrolling down. "So, anyway, he rakes up debts, but manages to always pay them off in the nick of time with his salary from the law firm, money from drug dealing, all those honorable things. But 6 months ago, the firm did surprise drug testing and he failed spectacularly. Got a job at a coffee shop, but started gambling more and using drugs more frequently. He lost that job 3 months ago, and that's when he moved to Georgetown to crash on a friend's couch. Some grad student named William McClough."

"His second cousin," Joan interrupted. "Billy's actually a good kid, kind of a wuss. He probably got pressured into it."

"Yeah, well Trent hooked up with some old pals in the DC area, and this phone call was tapped 2 months ago." Annie pressed play and Joan's heard a steely voice.

"_Yeah, so I saw that girl you used to screw the other day..."_ That was not Trent, so he must've been a friend.

"_Hah, which one?" _

"_Blonde, gray eyes, sexy legs…"_

"_Joan?"_

"_Yeah, there you go. Saw her in a Starbucks in Arlington. Bro, she's fine."_

The conversation continued as Trent badgered his friend for Joan's car model and plate number, and then they talked about getting together later with a friend named Jack Daniels.

"Cute," Auggie said darkly. "Because no one has ever made the "my friend Jack" joke."

"How did you get that phone call?," Arthur asked. Annie smiled.

"We got lucky. Trent's friend, Tyler Gonzalez, is on the hook for smuggling cocaine into Venezula through his girlfriend and her sister, so DEA is trailing him. It took a few hours for us to find all of Trent's contacts in DC, but we aren't the only ones looking for him."

"What do you mean?," Joan asked.

"That's the final piece of the puzzle," Auggie said. "Trent's on the hook for a total of $750,000 with some serious dangerous bookies. He's a wanted man. He probably started following you because he's a creep, and saw you drive into Langley. He told you that he needs to disappear, and that's the truth. If he doesn't pay these guys back by the end of the month, his "wanted" sentence from Atlantic City gets an addition – "Wanted dead or alive." He's completely screwed. And he thinks you can help him."

"Wow," Joan said, leaning against the kitchen island, hand on her mouth. Arthur put his arm around her shoulders.

"Honey, don't worry, we'll protect you."

"Yeah, I've got an old army buddy who's off right now, so he'll be watching the house for the next few weeks," Auggie said. "And Annie and I have started to work on a few different plans to get rid of this guy."

"I just hope that Emily never falls for someone like Trent," Joan whispered to her husband, letting her head fall onto his shoulder.


	6. I Send My Best Regards From Hell

Joan had been home from the hospital for three days, and she spent most of her time in the nursery. She had slept in the rocking chair every night, and only got up to use the bathroom, feed Emily, and water the backyard plants. She barely ate and still used her crutches. Joan was starting to look like a ghost, and Arthur was worried. He had gone back to work, but even with Auggie's army buddy watching over the house, he still felt uneasy.

He picked up his cell and texted Annie. It was time to ignore the plans and take a shortcut.

Arthur parked 3 blocks away from a park half an hour away from Langley and put up the hood on his leather jacket. He saw a dark figure hunched over, sitting at a bench, and got that feeling of a predator closing in on his prey.

"Trent DeAngelo?"

The man looked up and saw Arthur looming over him, scowling.

"Who's asking?"

"Joan's husband, you sorry asshole," Arthur said. He had to restrain himself from punching Trent in the face. Trent sighed, the smug look on his face saying that he thought it was almost laughable for Arthur to try and intimidate him.

"Great. You come here to scare me? Think you can make me cave?" He almost sounded bored.

"No, I came here to protect my family. You need to leave us alone."

Trent shook his head and chuckled. "Sorry, bro, can't do it. I got too much ridin' on this, I need her help."

"What you _need_ is to get lost. Find someone else to help you fix the shitty mess you've made your life into, _bro_."

Trent shook his head again, still smug. "Nah, man. I don't care what you say, you can't frighten me."

Arthur sighed and looked Trent straight in the eyes.

"My daughter deserves to have a better father than I did, and I wouldn't be someone she can look up to if I don't protect her and her mother. So I'll ask you once more to get out of town, _please_."

Trent rolled his eyes. "Asking me nicely? Are we ten years old, man?"

"No, you're too much of a lowlife to play nice," Arthur scoffed. He reached into his coat, and for a second, he saw the slightest flicker of fear in Trent's eyes.

"Here." Arthur tossed a canvas pouch onto the bench. "Consider it a down payment for your bookie. Now stay the hell away from my wife and our friends."

Trent just laughed and lit a cigarette.

"So you're the badass with a heart of gold? Her knight in shining armor with daddy issues?"

Arthur chuckled, his beautiful blue eyes dark. "Whatever you want to call it." He pulled back the other side of his jacket to show his gun.

"And here's the final reason you should make yourself scarce. I'm in a similar line of work as my wife. You've lost count of how many pills you taken and bottles you've smashed – and I've lost track of how many people I've killed. Remember that."

Arthur turned and strode away, hoping that no one he cared about would ever see or hear from Trent DeAngelo again.

xxxx

The next night, Joan had finally resigned herself to sleeping in her own bed. Arthur got home from work late and was pleasantly surprised to see Joan sitting in their bed, reading a book about parenting toddlers.

"Hey, honey," he said, bending over to kiss her. She smiled and put her hand on his cheek, kissing him back.

"How was work?"

"Good. I told Sorenson that you'd be back at the start of next week," Arthur said, referring to the head of the DPD. Joan laughed.

"And he took orders from you?"

"Well, I work for the DCS –"

"You're being groomed to take over for the DCS in the next few years," Joan corrected, interrupting him. He smiled, eyes sparkling.

"Yeah. And Sorenson knows that he won't be raising any higher in the ranks of the CIA than he already is, so he had no choice but to listen to me."

Joan smiled. "Thanks, darling. It will be nice to have a few more days at home, so I can watch over Emily."

"Oh, about that," Arthur said, undoing his tie and undressing. "I talked to Trent this morning."

Joan's eyes widened and she sat up in bed, placing her book on the nightstand.

"What?! Is he following you around too? I swear, he's out of control –"

"No, sweetie," Arthur said, pulling on a pair of plaid pajama pants and a black t-shirt. "I sought him out, so we could have a talk."

"And?"

"I gave him some money," Arthur said simply, getting into bed. He said it as if he had offered to pay for Trent's lunch or coffee. "He won't be bothering us anymore. If he gets near anyone we care about again, I told him that I will not hesitate to kill him."

Joan gaped. "Arthur, you paid him off?

"Yes. And don't waste your energy getting mad at me, because I know it was the right thing to do," he said seriously, looking into her eyes. "He almost got you killed, and he poses a threat to our daughter. I'll do whatever I can to keep him away from both of you."

Joan laid back on the pillows, thinking this over. She knew Trent, he thrived on danger. Being threatened wouldn't keep him away. If he was scared of Arthur, he would already be out of town. But she'd been tracking his car since the day he stopped her during her run and she knew that he hadn't gone anywhere all day.

Something was keeping him here, and she knew what.

xxxx

Using the information she got from the app Auggie had crafted for her to track Trent's car, Joan figured out the address of Trent's cousin Billy's apartment. She called Erin and said she had some errands to run, and she needed someone to watch Emily. Then she called Auggie and told him to tell his buddy to stand down, so Erin wouldn't get freaked out.

The apartment was a good 45 minutes away from the house. When Joan finally arrived, she parked around the block and walked, hoping that Arthur didn't have anyone following her for safety. She reached the front door and pounded on it until her hand hurt. It finally swung open to reveal Trent, holding a half-empty beer bottle. Two more empty bottles sat on the coffee table behind him.

"Day drinking? Of course, it's pathetic, just like you are," Joan sneered, pushing past him into the living room. Trent laughed.

"You used to do it all the time, back in your day."

"Yeah, I was in college. I was young, and stupid," Joan said. She smoothed her blood-red blouse and stuck her phone in the back pocket of her jeans. Trent smirked.

"Fair."

"So, you got some money, and now bookies don't want to kill you as much as they did before," Joan said looking around the apartment. "So what are you still doing here?"

"I'm here for you," Trent said, smiling. He tried to wrap his arms around Joan's waist, and she wiggled away.

"I need you, Joanie. I'm not the same without you."

Joan sighed. "We are not some twisted, unrequited love story, okay Trent? I have a child, a husband. You need to stop your obsession and move on. I don't even care that you nearly killed me by tampering with my car. Just stay away from me and my family, _forever_."

"Family? You've never had a family, JJ."

Joan shook her head, disgusted. "No. You don't get to call me that. You only gave me that nickname because you were so wasted that half the time you didn't even remember your girlfriend's fucking name."

His lips curled into an evil smile. "Whatever, baby. You can't make me stay away from you, you just can't. I won't ask you for money or any of that shit again, but I will be around. You can't stop that."

"Oh yeah?" Joan grabbed an empty beer bottle off the coffee table and smashed it against the side of the table, so she was left with half of a bottle, with jagged edges. She took a few steps closer to him and held it out.

"You're forgetting the training I have, and you're forgetting the strength that all that pain gave me. I will not waste a second thought on hurting you if I ever see you again. I'm a spy, Trent. I've killed people, and people who were worth a lot more than you. So don't toss empty threats at me, you piece of shit."

Trent was finally afraid. He was used to the drugged-up, half awake Joan, the one who was pale and fragile and fractured. Not this Joan. Not the strong, reformed badass.

He held his hands up in surrender.

"Fine. And for what's it worth, I'm sorry about the car accident. You know I didn't want to kill you, right? Just scare you, J…" He trailed off.

Joan scoffed, tossing the broken beer bottle onto the floor. "You've never been sorry about a goddamn thing in your life."

She walked away, closing the door behind her. Trent got the message loud and clear: get the hell out of town.


	7. Dare You To Move

Sorry this is a bit short - just wanted to wrap up the story cleanly :) I'm glad everyone loved this so much, and I hope you continue to read my _Covert Affairs_ stories... this season is shaping up to be both intense and inspirational! xo.

* * *

"Joan!"

Arthur set Emily down on the couch and ran to the front door the second he heard Joan's key in the front door. She walked into the foyer and Arthur collided with her, wrapping his arms around his wife and squeezing her tightly. Joan practically had the wind knocked out of her.

"Arthur…"

Arthur just held her tightly, shaking his head.

"I want to be mad at you for going over there, but nothing matters other than the fact that you're safe."

Joan pulled back. "How did you – "

"Please, I've had Auggie tracing your phone since the minute you and I left the hospital," Arthur said, stroking her cheek. "Honey, why did you do it?"

Joan sighed. "Because, I needed to look into his eyes and understand why someone who used to be charming and intelligent became paranoid and reckless. Someone I used to care about ran me off the road, Arthur. I'm used to being targeted by foreign nationals, people I don't know, who just hate me because I represent a country they hate. But this is different. He used to be a good guy. For a few months, we were actually really happy. I've never been…_betrayed_ like this."

"Promise me that it's over now," Arthur said, kissing her cheek and hugging her again.

Joan nodded. "I promise. The man I knew is gone – I could see it in his eyes."

xxxx

Joan walked into Annie's house and sat down at the kitchen table. Annie was at the counter, emptying the dishwasher. She turned and smiled, happy to see her best friend.

"Hey, Joanie," Annie said, pouring her a glass of orange juice. Annie was wearing running shorts and a coral tank top, and she was pulling her hair into a ponytail. "How are you feeling?"

Joan took a sip and smiled. "Better," she said, looking at the raised scar on her arm from the shard of the driver's side window. "It's been almost 4 weeks, and I'm finally starting to feel normal again."

Annie grinned. "Glad to hear it. You had me scared there for a second, Joanie."

Joan nodded. "I was scared too. And I should have been more open – with you, Arthur, and Auggie. I put my own safety in jeopardy, something I can't do anymore. Now that I have Emily, I can't take these kinds of risks anymore. I can't be reckless, because I'm no longer coming home to an empty apartment."

Annie smiled softly. "It makes me so happy and relieved to hear you say that. One day, I'm going to tell Emily how much of a badass her mom is."

Joan laughed. "She'll probably think it's a joke. Kids never think their parents are cool."

Annie nodded. "True. But you're a spy, that's gotta count for something."

"Maybe. I just hope she never wants to do what I do," Joan admitted, finishing her orange juice.

"I don't know about that," Annie said slowly. "You and Arthur are both fantastic spies. It would be a shame not to pass that on."

Joan shook her head and stood up, pulling on her foot and stretching her hamstring.

"Well, I'd rather she inherit my strengths than my weaknesses."

It was quiet for a moment, and then Annie broke the silence.

"Okay, enough talk. It's time to run," she said, tossing Joan a water bottle. "Think you can beat me, momma?"

Joan grinned, a glint in her eye. "I'll race you. 2 and a half miles?"

Annie raised her eyebrow. "Make it 3."

Joan grabbed Annie's arm and pulled her out the front door, smiling and laughing.

"You're on."


End file.
